meredith kercher. sollecito made his up statement this morning, offering the jury a bracelet he has been wearing inscribed with the words "free amanda and raffaele." amap deals family memberses arrived upbeat. >> i'm hopeful.nda's family mem arrived upbeat. >> i'm hopeful. arrived upbeat. >> i'm hopeful. what happens when she is found guilty or not guilty? >> it is confirmed or reformed. conviction is upheld and reforma, they could reform this mean everything from set her free, to changing the length of the sentence, reducing it or increasing it, as the prosecution has asked for. she faces six counts, murderer is only one of the six counts there are areas in between, not necessarily a black and white decision here. >> is there also a chance that

she could be found -- that her sentence could be confirmed but her then-boyfriend could be reformed, as you put it? >> interesting question because sollecito faces, i believe, four counts. the conspiracy that the prosecution alleged all along involved three people, sollecito, a, amanda knox and rudy gueda, serving time and had his appeal. they could separate them, free one and not the other, but that puts into further question the credibility of the justice system. remember saying the theory how the people worked together that is not really the case this guy is -- this person is in, this person is out it is possible. there are areas of gray here. when we hear the verdict, keep in mind it is now 6:00 here in italy. we were told we would not hear a verdict before 8. it could come any time past the next two hours or so or, you know, certainly expect it to happen today but this could extend beyond this.

>> i understand that meredith kercher's family also spoke out a short time ago as well there. >> they did. they have had a very low-key presence throughout all this they were in court today. and they held a news conference a short while ago, essentially making the case, don't forget hot victim is here, meredith kercher brutally murdered in that house by someone. the family suggest they had sport prosecution as it stood. they were a little more careful with their words today, especially on the question they would forgive those that killed meredith. here is some of what they had to say. >> without a final ending to everying, it would be very difficult to forgive anything at this stage. the brutality of what actually happened that night and everything that meredith must have are felt that night, everything she went through, the fear and the terror and not

knowing why. >> the family, again, wanting everyone to remember meredith kercher, the victim here. let point out one other thing in court, before the deliberations began, keep in mind two judges and a jury together, so you have got the judges guiding the process, before they broke up, the chief judge admonished those spectators and the press that went verdict read to not make any boisterous testimony mop stations, that's common in courtrooms. but he used the word "no cheering" some people have latched onto the word cheering to suggest maybe he is telegraphing are, you know, which way this is going to go. we don't know that. >> lester holt from perugia, we could be get a verdict in two hours. thank you, appreciate that, sir. >> you bet. another big trial under way today, of course, an emergency room doctor on the stand again in the involuntary manslaughter trial of michael jackson's personal physician, dr. conrad murray.

that's richelle cooper there cooper authorized paramedics to pronounce jackson dead in his room. friday, she testified that dr. murray did not inform her that jackson had been injected with propofol. >> what was mr. jackson's condition upon arrival at ucla? >> his condition was as described by the parred meics. he was clinically dead. >> nbc's kristen dahlgren is live outside the courthouse this afternoon. what else is cooper testifying about today, kristen? >> reporter: hi there, craig. well, dr. cooper is talking about the life-saving measures and the medications that they tried to give michael jackson at the hospital to restart his heart. also, how had they were giving him cpr, chest comp press, but how she never felt a pulse on michael jackson. now, as you were talking about she first pronounced him dead at the home and dr. murray insisted that he be brought to the hospital for these continued life-saving measures and again,

they talked about how she asks dr. murray whether or not he was given anything and he said nothing about propofol. now, later today, it is a little more difficult today to tell who we are going to hear from because the judge has issued a gag order in this case, telling attorneys not talk at all about what's coming up or about the case after one of the attorneys in the lead defense counsel's office spoken with the today show on friday. the jim is calling him in on contempt of court charges. so, we don't know exactly who's coming up but the prosecution has been mirroringing what they did in in the preliminary hearing. after cross-examination and redirect of dr. cooper, we could possibly hear later on today from some experts, from some of the phone chops will be analyzing phone records. also this week, we are expected to hear from at least three girl friends of dr. murray, one of whom the prosecution claims was on the phone with him, craig, when he discovered that michael jackson wasn't breathing. >> crisp dal glenn live outside

the courthouse in los angeles for us this afternoon. kristen, thank you. >> you belt. joining me here in the studio, ricky kleman, legal analyst, former sex crimes prosecutor. we have been having you in here to talk about all things jackson, all things knox as well. talk about michael jackson and the murder trial. we will start there the girlfriends that kristen just alluded to there, perhaps as many as three, what do we expect to hear from them and how significant could that be? >> well it is not that we are hearing from them in their role really as girl friends. >> yeah. >> we are hearing from them in their role as having received telephonic communications before and after the death of michael jackson. so what you have is dr. murray making phone calls at a time when he should have been paying attention to his patient. and then after dr. murray is in the ambulance, when he is with michael jackson going to the hospital, he allegedly then makes the third phone call. so, you have one more factor,

one of the girlfriend is someone that he knew who was in santa monica and also, it is said by the prosecution, according to the testimony back at the preliminary hearing, that she was the recipient of the propofol being delivered to her house for the doctor. >> if he is -- if he is a board-certified cardiologist based in houston, texas, why then would he be having the propofol shipped to her address and not the address of his doctor's office? >> well, that is a very good question that certainly jurors would like to know the answer to. there are various explanations, none of them good. >> this is a question over the weekend. i thought about this and i wanted to ask you this, make sure i got this in. the defense is contending that jackson took drugs after murray left the room. >> correct. >> can they prove that? >> well, they can certainly attempt to prove it through an expert or more than one expert. this case can only, craig, go for the defense on the basis of expert testimony.

there is no other possible way and what an expert would have to testify to is that either the blood levels or the blood levels in combination with the stomach contents, we know there's this mysterious lidocaine in the stomach contents, that that would have to show that it could only have been ingested, we thought, by mouth of michael jackson. now the theory seems to be switching a bit that perhaps he gave himself an injection. that's the only way out for the defense. >> all right. let's switch gears and talk about the amanda knox verdict that we are expecting to get as early as 2:00 eastern time here. you have been following this closely, with heard lester's report that the jim, he gave an instruction today for there not to be any cheering we don't want to read too much into that instruction. >> i won't read too much into that. >> what do you think happens? do you think amanda knox and her boyfriend, do you think that their sentences are overturn there had? >> well, we certainly, in the united states, seem to think that that is going to happen

because the publicity that we have all been subjected to leads us to believe that this was a gross miscarriage of justice that the dna evidence alone should exonerate amanda knox and her boyfriend. for heaven's sakes there are so many errors in that dna. there is not enough to retest. and what we hear about the knife, the dna on the so-called murder weapon is that it really had to do with wry bread. that is truly fact being stranger than fiction all that said, craig, i think it is important to bring up one thing that even if she is supposed to stay in prison, there is now in process something in international law called a transfer proceeding. >> okay. >> so she could potentially serve that prison term, even if she is not let loose, in the united states of america. >> ricky kleman, always sign sightful. please stick around if is there a major development in either trial, we will, of course, want to talk to you. >> my pleasure. >> thanks, again.

let's turn to wall street now not the dow, not nasdaq just yet, talking about the protesters, they are down on wall street. they are turning into zombies, at least that's the goal. organizers telling marchers to paint their faces and pretend to eat monopoly money in order to show workers in the financial district "the metaphor of their actions." it is all part of the start of occupy wall street, week three. organizers claim that the movement is only growing stronger. >> becoming more and more organized each day and we are building the infrastructure and then every day we get bigger and find out that our infrastructure's inadequate. >> nbc's michelle franzen is in downtown new york city this after into. what's the latest there, michelle? >> reporter: craig, you were just hearing from one of the media representatives, a spokes person, but this organization, this group, this movement, is deliberately, by their account, leaderless so far, even though they are starting to pick up more people and more interest and the backing from unions.

it's by design that they try to bring all the plat forms and all the issues that they say they are affected by, which includes what they call social injustice, that they are -- their distrust of big government and corporation and how they are going to speak out and zombie creative factor that you mentioned. they are supposed to gather here later this afternoon and once again, descend on wall street. walking through that, dressed in business suits with their faces painted on that to make a statement yet again. but over the weekend, as you mentioned, there were also other statements that were made here in the city and elsewhere around the country, more than 700 people here in new york city were arrested on disorderly charges as well as blocking the roadway on the brooklyn bridge. that was on saturday. some of the protesters complaining that police had entrappeded them in that area, let them go out on the brim, only for them to be arrested, but police had also released their own video saying that they had warped the crowds before then. so a lot of back and forth here,

but they are here to stay, craig. if you go to the occupy wall street web site, which we did here and you look at the calendar, there are protest events through 2012, 2013. it just keeps going. how long do these protesters say they expect to be there? >> well, people that we talked to say they are here for the long haul. they have been here for three weeks and counting so far, they are just getting going beyond the construction workers that are having lunch there getting started with their day, they have meetings every day, they say that they will be out here, rain, shape or possibly snow in the months ahead. >> who are these people? i mean, are these -- clearly these respect people that have 9 to 5 jobs. are the lie yip's share of them are they students who are unemployed? >> is a mixture of that, craig. the core group, the dozens here that are camped out, many of them are college students, some of them were unable to get jobs when they graduated, others come from other backgrounds and then there are people, as these

crowds swell throughout the day or on the weekends, that may have jobs but still want to lend their support or have their own voices that they want to -- dissatisfaction that they want to be heard here. so, various backgrounds, some employed, some not, some disaffected, some just wanting to lend their support. >> they have finally gotten some folks attention. michelle fran zepp, thank you, appreciate that. let's go ahead and take a look at the market boards right now the dow, s & p, nasdaq, all down, all of that despite some positive news today with factory activity in this country. manufacturing. manufacturing up in september. up next, damage control. rick perry's campaign going on the defense after it was revealed that a racist slur used to be painted on perry's hunting camp. i will talk to reverend al sharpton who says perry needs to do two things, either explain himself or get out of the presidential race. also, the supreme court convening in a new session,

several hot-bunt issues are on the agenda. we will get an update from washington. and it is being called the first of its kind, a faulty food tax. we are going to tell where you you will be paying more for cheeseburgers. that looks like a bacon cheeseburg long-term hot dogs, pizzas as well. talk about it all, up next. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. can't wait 'til morning. wait, it's morning in the himalayas... [ male announcer ] it's sweet. it's nutty. it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's crunchy nut. it's morning somewhere.

♪ kingdoms and queens ♪ they all bow down to you ♪ ♪ branches and ranch hands ♪ are bowin', too

♪ and i've taken off... [ man ] we could have gone a more traditional route... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ here comes the sun again

the question today for rick perry is his candidacy done? the texas governor wanted to spend the weekend in new hampshire, trying to regain some ground lost in those debates. instead though, he is having to answer charges that he spent decades visiting a hunting spot in texas, the name of which once included the n-word or a variation of it. perry's camp calls the "washington post" story incorrect and inkept consistent that came out over the weekend. al sharpton, host of mnsbc's

"politics nation," joining me now do you think rick perry should get out of the race at this point because of the hunting story? >> if he cannot clarify what it was in terms of his involvement in a period of time, he has to get out. the fact of the matter is you have to deal with the fact that this man, we're not talking about this man is confronted with a pattern of behavior here. according to the "washington post" article, several people said that he entertained people there he engaged or leased the place over a period of time with the n-word in it. not talking about a slip of the topping that could have been misinterpret, an associate of his, whether you engaged in leasing over a period of time that clearly a racially offensive term. >> you said in a statement

either yesterday dior the day before that he was blind or -- what was it? >> he was blind to where he was or he felt there was nothing to it. either one shows you are not ready for white house material. you are not ready for prime time capped dash i is. >> you are not saying that perry is a racist, you think this speaks to his ability to lead the free world? >> i think it raises questions of insensitivity. it raises questions of whether or not you think some things are tolerable and you don't have to be a racist to do things to say that you would tolerate certain things or that you're insensitive to certain things. there are some people, like on bloggers that arguing this morning, well, the n-word and that title is a regional thing. well, you shouldn't be president of the united states if you think in any region of this country you can racially offend people. >> perry's camp has pushed back, they have pointed to his record

of high-profile appointments of african-americans. the chief judge down there an african-american. >> right. >> other priority ins that have been appoint by the governor. what is your response to that? >> the issue is did he lease over a period of time a hunting ramp had what had the n-word as the name of the ranch and did he entertain and consistently leaseded it? all of that, some of my best friends were blacks, did not answer the x. >> i have him over to my house all the time for dinner. >> doesn't answer the x. >> let ask you this, snag struck me, rick perry has been governor of texas longer than any person in the history of that state. he has been rumored to be a presidential candidate for some time, why are we just now hearing this? >> a very good question and i think it goes to a lot of questions even in some of the people in the media. >> you're part of the media now. >> exactly right. which is one of the reasons i'm jumping on this. we should have known this before

he was running for governor. the real anticipate to that is the fact you don't even -- perry's camp denied it existed. they are saying this happened this way, that watch >> it didn't happen. >> nobody said it didn't happen, wasn't named that, wasn't derogatory. that is so disturbing, should have come out before, obviously there is something there. >> we want to note we did reach out to the lodge and asked for a response. we have not got an response from them. >> hiding under a rock. >> that's only 12320, warmed up for 6:00. a little birdie told me it was your birthday. >> today i'm 57 years old. >> i wasn't go to say t. >> hey, i'm glad i made it 57 years. i've been.out here a long time and glad, we will talk about it tonight on "politics nation". >> as always, happy birthday to you. >> thank you, sir. >> reverend al sharpton, 6:00 eastern time, politics nation. should get a picture of you smiling why don't they have that -- you should have a smile picture? >> we will talk about that i heard you were complaining about your picture. >> i complain about everything.

>> yeah, so take care have a good coming up, will he or won't he? we are expecting to hear whether governor chris christie will jump in the 2012 race some time within the next 4 hours that means we are going to spend the next 4 hours talking about it. rough ride in the sky for several jetblue passengers, turbulence so bad, several people were injured. details on that, next. brop a lot of times, things are right underneath our feet, and all we need to do is change the way

we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from. ♪ [ dog barks ] [ birds chirping ] ♪ [ mechanical breathing ] [ engine turns over ] ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new volkswagen passat. a new force in the midsize category. ♪ [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same...

♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries.

welcome back to msnbc on this monday. i'm craig mel slip. nobel prize in medicine was awarded to canadian-born scientist ralph steinman. hours after announcement, stipeman's university said he died of pancreatic cancer three days ago. the noble coast was unaware of steinman's death when they awarded the prize. it is not normally given out

posthumously. the iphone 4 was released 15 months ago and the new product will be revealed, but not by steve johns who resigned in august. first name 15 year, tiger woods is out of the top 50 in the worked golf ratings. woods has not won a championship in nearly two years. and a denmark has introduced what is believed to be the world's first fat tax. foods contain morgue than 2.3% saturated fat like butter, meat and cheese, will be subjected to the new surcharge. major turbulence is being blamed for at least 20 injuries aboard two separate flights yesterday that landed in boston. 11 people on a lufthansa flight enroute to munich, germany, were hurt after plane was forced to be diverted to boston last night. as many as three of the injured had to be hospitalized. authorities also say that nine passengers aboard a jetblue flight from san juan to boston had injuries. no one with was seriously hurt.

this is all that's left of a chevy malibu after a it crashed into a tree in philadelphia. witnesses say that the 9-year-old child was behind the wheel went car slammed into a tree on a busy road yesterday. the 9-year-old was take top a local hospital but the company is not nope. what is also not known at this point is why the child was driving in the first place. still ahead, rick perry says that sending u.s. troops to mexico could be the answer to stopping the deadly drug violence. and hundreds of alabama students are no-shows at school after the state's tough immigration law upheld in court.we will talk about those stories. best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product.

vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us.

♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. so, what was chris christie doing this weekend, while everyone waits to hear will they or wouldn't he, reviewing the troops, the sort of thing that any chief of state would do the new jersey governor's case, he attended aer is mope yesterday for his state's national guard.

the governor said nothing about whether he intends to announce a decision on whether to run for president this week. here to help us sort through the rumor, innuendo, gossip, chris mcgarrenian, reporter for the newark star ledger. >> thanks for having me. >> written about mr. christie as of late. in your most recent piece, you notice this is some buzz he has prompted a number of times before. based on that buzz what can we surmise about what he might intend to do this time? >> right it is definitely all a question of timing, he has been right about the timing before and wrong about the timing before, when he was a young county official, he rap for state assembly, the wrong time, he ran too quickly and lost the race. then 2005, he waited four years and won in 2009. so for governor. store, is a matter of him trying to figure out exactly -- he has been on both sides before so, now it is trying to gaming what he thinks had is the right time now. >> do you have a sense of what's

most important to chris christie as he works through this decision? >> well, right now, it looks like the donors lined up, so it's -- we don't think it's a question of money at this point. a lot of establishment players are trying to push him into the race. apparently, his wife is no longer opposing a run for president. -- >> his family is on board? >> so it has been reported. right now it is a very personal discussion with his family, his advisers to see if they can put it together. there is not much time left, they have to scramble to put this together. >> you have studieded the governor, more than most. hypothetically, let's say that chris christie does get into this race, is -- is his record and is his personality ready are to go prime time? >> well, it's hard to tell exactly what's going to be focused on the most instant.ly when he jumps in, but the scrutiny that he will be under will be so much more than new jersey, he can be a very off the cuff kind of guy.

>> very. >> and a lot of reasons people like him that can swing back quickly you that, happened in a few occasions in new jersey, a matter of what that's going to be like when it's pushed through the 24-hour news cycle. >> the 24-hour news cycle. abc's jamie gangel this morning on the today show said that his team asked several republicans about to endorse other candidates to hold all for 48 hou hours. is that the same type of window? >> we are expecting something to happen on wednesday. we expect definitely this week this can't go on too long longer without the governor appearing before the press and taking a few questions. he hasn't taken questions in more than a week now. so the buzz can't go too much longer without him address it. >> chrissing me gearian, thank you so much, appreciate your time. what are you working on for tomorrow? >> waiting to see what the next thing is going to happen, waiting for white smoke. >> l star ledger, newark star ledger. thanks, buddy. so will christie decide open to thor the race and did rick

perry and his old texas hunting spot make decision a built easier for chris christie? for answers, turn to our political strategist, former dnc communications director karen finney and former bush 41 white house aide, joe walt consistency. joe, you okay with the ear piece? >> my ear piece is trying to give me a hard time, but i'm good now. i'm good. >> thank you guys both for being here. let's start with chris christie. "new york times" reported saturday that christie's advisers looking into how fast they can set up an operation. karen, is there really enough time for christie to get into this thing? >> you know, that's something that christie is going to have to anticipate with his team. time is really running tight. but i think over the last couple of weeks, rick perry has really demonstrated the challenge of getting in late in terms of not just fund raise bug also being ready. when you let the hype get so high, you have got to come in with perfect pitch, you have got to have your own research done on yourself and have anticipate to you know, questions like we

saw rick perry kind of changing his answers over the weekend about this ranch. so i'm sure that's the kind of calculation that chris christie is trying to make is if i do this, aim gonna get in and flop or am i gonna get in and really be able to hit ground running? >> and joe, the calendar now the republican primary calendar, south carolina announcing a short time ago that they are going to, you know, january 321st now. what does the calendar do the shift in calendar, what does that do for christie's prospects? >> make that hard a loft maces tough visit, you have to have staff on the ground and people who -- delegates who will support you, will vote for you in order to win. you know, the primaries are no joke. they are serious business and you need people who are going to be committed to you and what we lacking now as we get closer is time. the element of time. raising money and then having the time to go to these place and to campaign effectively to get the kind of support you want and need, be a viable candidate for the republican nomination. >> let's switch to rick perry

here, karen. rick perry has not one, not two but three bad stories facing him today, comments about sending the troops into mexico if elected, the new ap story about wasting -- about $35 million of state money to subsidize subprime learneds who failed this texas, those stories paling this comparison to the story about a rock with with the n-word painted on it. is rick perry done? >> you know, he is pretty close to being done. and i will tell you, part of the reason that i say that is if you look at the way his answers evolved over the weekend on this last story, that is a sign of a candidate that is not prepared for the level of scrutiny that a national campaign brings. what you hear from people in texas say he has been governor of texas for ten years and never came up, okay, that's texas. what surprised me the most is it's not up reasonable to think that a reporter would want to go to his hometown and kind of get a sense of where he grew up. so why somebody didn't think

that this would be a problem that should be dealt with ahead of time really speaks volumes about the lack of experience that we are seeing. >> joe exwhat happened to him? what happened to rick perry? again, he was a guy just a few weeks ago, he was the second coming for the republican party. >> well, i wouldn't count governor rick perry out yes. of course, he has had a couple of difficult challenges the last few days vand to get by those challenges and be a tremendous advantage for mitt romney and herman cain, moving up swiftly if the polls. he he's a chance to rebound from this still. a chance to show you what karen has said. the level of scrutiny is much tougher on the presidential level than the state level. >> go ahead really quickly, karen. >> part of it, this is the kind of thing that undermines confidence from donors that is the other big race going on here. >> karen, joe, always a pleasure, thank you both so

much. do appreciate that. don't forget to tune in tonight for a special edition of "hardball" with chris matthews it is called "the great democratic debate," chris will assess two very different political strategies for president obama's re-election, tonight, 7:00 eastern, right here on msnbc. some breaking news right now to get to this is a massive fire it is burping at a chemical plant in texas. the firefighters on at scene here, this is in a city and a town called wax sa hatch chi there we just saw some huge fireballs from that chemical plant in wax sa hatch chi texas. the campus of navarro college nearby being evacuated. for folks who are in that area or who might be familiar with this area this is the 1600 block of state highway 287, the bypass. i think we have got the -- there are some other evacuations. watch for the fireball here,

right there you see it almost in the middle of your screen there. again, a chemical plant, wax sa hatch chi. firefighters on the scene for some time. you can see we see at least one, two, three, four -- four trucks on the outside there. but we will continue to monitor that chemical plant on fire, a massive fire there. some evacuations already in play. we will stay on top of that and pass on new information as it becomes available. first monday in october that means the supreme court begins its new term today and it is not even on the docket just yet, one case will likely dominate height court in the coming months that blockbuster legal battle over president obama's signature health care law. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joining me now besides health care this term looks like it could be the most significant and impactful in a very long time. >> welling, yes, but the the health care case that makes the big difference here. the supreme court hasn't yet

said whether it is going to take up the case. one federal appeals court has said it is up constitutional. another has said it's not. the issue is this requirement that virtually all americans buy health insurance. the question is whether that's up constitutional, whether congress has the power to make that requirement. the obama administration and the people on the other side are all unanimous. they want the supreme court to take this case and if it does take the case, then it would be hugely important and we also have a decision coming down next june right as the presidential campaign heats up. among some other issues that the court has agreed to hear is whether the police need a search warrant to secretly plant a gps transmitter on a suspect's car. now the police say no, there's nothing private about driving your car on the public streets. but privacy advocates say these devices can transmit so much detail over such a long period of time, that it's -- it amounts to a picture about a person's life that no police surveillance would ever pick up.

the court will look at the federal government's restriction on indecency in broadcast television, whether it's too vague, outdated in an era of almost anything goes on cable and the court will look whether it's constitutional to require strip searches for every hob gets brought into a local jail, no matter how minor the offense. those are just some of the cases. tomorrow, for example, the supreme court will consider whether it's constitutional to restore copyright to works that are now in the public dough main, craig. >> pete, before i let you get out of here quickly, the case of a massachusetts man plotting to fly explosive-packed model planes into the pentagon, the capital that suspect in federal court today bham is the latest on that case? >> right. he will be -- a bond hearing to decide whether he should be held on bail it would be very surprising if the judge does anything other than continue the bail that hearing is at 3:00 this afternoon. since the charges were

originally unveiled, there has since been an indictment. the goff has a little more detail here them say, for example, when he was dealing with people he thought were al qaeda recruiters but who were actually fbi undercover operatives, he gave them 12 cell telephones that he had modified to be used as detonators. he thought they were being sent over to make roadside bombs that would attack u.s. troops in iraq and afghanistan. >> nbc news justice correspondent pete williams from d.c. for us this afternoon. pete, thank you. >> you bet. let's take another quick live look here it he breaking news that we have been following in wax sa hatch chi, texas that chemical plant there on fire. we have seen at least one, perhaps two fireballs shoot from that chemical plant. a number of evacuations are in effect for the area around that plant. firefighters on the scene there. chemical plant on fire outside dallas, texas, we will continue to monitor it should something develop. we will face along to you. we will be right back. boy ] y, i thought these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt.

so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station?

back to that breaking news, massive fire burpi inin iburnin cam plant in waxahachie, texas, outside of dallas. chemical pla texas, outside of dallas. you can't make it out there is a train on fire on the tracks behind the chemical plant and seep the past 20 or 30 minutes, seen that fire spread on the ground as well. firefighters, dozens of them on the scene there, a number of evacuations in the area. the ellis county campus of navarro college has been evacuated as a precaution but a chemical plant there outside dallas on fire. that's magna blend plant we are told, according to their website, magna blend manufacturers chemical products that are based on customer speci specifications. presumably there are a number of

different chemicals at that plant that is on fire. we will top find out a little bit more about that fire but again, as you can see there, it continues to grow some 30 miles outside dallas, texas. you can see the train i was mentioning, the train on the tracks behind the chemical plant, the train, parts of it now on fire as well, as we have seep that fire spread over just the past 10 to 15 minutes. to the other big story we are following here, we are expecting a verdict in the amanda knox appeal in just over an hour now, could get that verdict as early as 2:00 eastern time, jurors got the case this morning after a emotional plea from knox herself. meanwhile, here in the states, some of knox's supporters, some of her friends and family members, stayed up all night watching the trial on television in her hometown of seattle. stephanie gosk was with them she joins us live from see at this will afternoon. stephanie, what was the mood there among the supporters?

>> reporter: craig, you know, it's interesting, i think the the mood here goes beyond just hopeful that this 2009 guilty verdict will be overturned. there's actually a expectation that it will be overturned. the people that were in this hotel and are still there now waiting for this decision, they believe that this is a trav jesty of justice, not just a travesty of justice but an obvious travesty of justice and feel investigate confident. a lot weary as well. most of them friends of the family, very close ties who are unable to make their way to italy but are here together in support. we talked to a few of them this is what they had to say. >> this has been a long, difficult process and people were talking about this and wanted to get together, wanted to share this. >> some fear, you know, anticipation. stomach's in knots. i think like a lot of people, we are just ready for it to be over

with. >> reporter: people here in seattle are also the organizers of the groups that have support amanda knox over the last four years, also doing -- holding fundraisers, trying to get help for the family, just in trying to pay for all of the legal fees that have mounted to an estimated $1 million. the family almost bankrupt trying to fund this. we were told today that almost every member of the family has had to mortgage their house just to try to get by. but again, people here are waiting. they are waiting a kind of vin areal. they are very emotional and agoness for this verdict. >> stephanie gosk awaiting the verdict in see at this will afternoon. stephanie, thank you. become to that breaking news now, massive fire burning at a chemical plant at waxahachie, texas, 35 miles outside dallas. firefighters are on the scene, as you can see there the fire very intense. also moving through the weren't property but we are told at this point it remains contained to property. it has not spread to a nearby

field a fire truck at the property was, however, engulfed as the fire spread across the count ground there you can also see a number of cars on the train tracks behind the chemical plant, a number of cars on fire as well. the ellis county campus of navarro clem has been evac the waited as a precaution. thick smoke billowing. we also saw a couple of fireballs as well. this is waxahachie, texas, 30 miles outside dallas. we will continue to watch this thing. we will take a quick break and be right back. [ female announcer ] the road is not exactly a place of intelligence. ♪ across the nation over 100,000 miles of highways and bridges are in disrepair. add to that, countless distractions every mile... ♪ ...millions of ill-equipped vehicles... ♪ ...half a million cubic yards of debris... and the 38 million drivers

who couldn't pass the driver's exam today. [ horn blares ] even if road signs actually did make sense. this is why we engineered a car that analyzes real time information, reads your handwriting and makes 2000 decisions every second. ♪ the new audi a6 is here. the road is now an intelligent place. ♪

hundreds of hispanic children are reportedly staying home from school in alabama since that tough new immigration law went into effect. the law allows officials to checked immigration status of public school students it went into effect last week, "usa today" reporting that 231 hispanic students were absent from school in montgomery on monday alone and the huntsville times says 230 hispanic students absent as well. joined by brent wilkes, national

executive director for the league of united latin america citizens. surprise sod many students seemed to be staying away? >> not surprised at all this type of thing has happened in the past when these harsh anti-immigrant laws are passed, we see the community acting in a way they are very scared, being safe rather than sorry and pulling their kids out of school, very up fortunate, because these students need a good education and unfortunately, pulled out of the school and interresulting their studies. supporters of the law say this doesn't block enroll n school bus helps tract illegal immigrant students who are there and also helps calculate the cost of educating them what do you say to those folk she is in. >> that is completely dishonest. i mean this is really intended to harm and punish the undocumented population and even the legal immigrant population of alabama. they know very well that this is what is going to result from this and doing on purpose and i think that is what their goalsome the governor himself stayed this is the toughest immigrant law in the entire nation, anti-immigrant law in

the entire nation and all the right-wing anti-immigrant people in the country are applauding alabama's a efforts. going to have to leave it there, my friend. appreciate your time. need to get back to this breaking news quickly here. want to update folks on the massive fire burping at a chemical plant in waxahachie, texas, outside dallas. you can see the fire continues to grow. so far, it has remained cop taped. the firefighters have been able to contain that fire to the property there. it has not spread to a nearby field. there is an elementary school that is very close to the chemical plant. we are told that the elementary school is not on lock down, but they are making sure that they keep all the soot students indoors is they don't breathe any of that -- that thick black air we have seen billow from that chemical plant about 30 minutes now we are told that the plant manufactures custom chemicals so, again, presumably, a variety of chemicals there, train cars also on fire.

again, firefighters have managed to to keep it under control there, chemical plant on fire outside dallas. we will continue to watch that i'm done here. be back here tomorrow, noon eastern, 9 a.m. out west, my friend and colleague, andrea mitchell, picking up from here. hey, andrea. >> thanks so much. up next on "andrea mitchell reports", as the supreme court opens a new term, we will get a rare look inside the supreme court with justice stevephen breyer here. should president obama go left or steer to the senter? "hardball's" chris math through's previews tonight's great debate. and arianna huffington and actress rita wilson here to tell us what is going on with the boomer generation. "andrea mitchell reports" next, right here on msnbc. phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... thanks.

after your dishcloth? bounty extra soft can help. in this lab test bounty extra soft leaves this surface three times cleaner than a dishcloth. right here on msnbc. super clean. super soft. bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. until i tried this. nothing helped me beat arthritis pain. it's salonpas. pain relief that works at the site of pain... up to 12 hours. salonpas.

it's been several weeks now since i set up the american jobs act. and as i have been sitting on a road, i want it back. i'm ready to sign it.